Praxis 5005 key terms

The continuous processes that change rock among igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic forms through melting, cooling, weathering, erosion, deposition, compaction, and the effects of heat and pressure.

The theory that Earth's rigid outer shell is broken into large plates that move slowly over the mantle, causing earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, and seafloor spreading where plates meet.

The ongoing movement of water between Earth's surface and atmosphere through evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, and collection, powered mainly by energy from the Sun and by gravity.

The breakdown of rocks and minerals where they lie, caused by physical processes such as freezing and thawing or chemical processes such as acid rain, without carrying the pieces away.

The picking up and carrying away of weathered rock, soil, and sediment by moving water, wind, ice, or gravity, which shapes landforms and deposits material in new locations.

Rock that forms when sediments are deposited in layers, then compacted and cemented over long periods; it often contains fossils and records past environments.

Rock formed when molten material from inside Earth cools and hardens, either slowly underground, producing large crystals, or quickly at the surface, producing fine-grained rock.

Rock that is changed by intense heat and pressure deep underground without melting, often gaining new minerals, folded layers, or a banded appearance.

The warming of Earth's surface as gases such as carbon dioxide and water vapor in the atmosphere absorb and reradiate heat that would otherwise escape into space.

The spin of Earth on its axis, taking about 24 hours, which produces day and night and makes the Sun and stars appear to move across the sky.

The changing apparent shape of the Moon seen from Earth, produced by the changing positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon as the Moon orbits Earth.

Remains, impressions, or traces of once-living organisms preserved in rock, most often sedimentary rock, that give evidence about past life and environments.

The process by which green plants, algae, and some bacteria use light energy, water, and carbon dioxide to make sugar and release oxygen.

The process by which cells release energy from food molecules, usually using oxygen and producing carbon dioxide and water as waste products.

A model of the interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem, showing how energy moves from producers to various consumers and decomposers through many linked paths.

An organism that makes its own food, usually through photosynthesis, and serves as the starting point of a food chain or food web.

An organism such as a fungus or bacterium that breaks down dead organisms and waste, returning nutrients to the soil and other parts of the ecosystem.

All the living organisms in an area together with the nonliving parts of their environment, such as water, soil, air, and sunlight, interacting as a system.

An inherited body feature or behavior that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment, having become common over many generations.

The process by which organisms with inherited traits that fit their environment tend to survive and reproduce more successfully, so those traits become more common over generations.

The passing of traits from parents to offspring through genes, which are sections of DNA located on chromosomes; this explains why offspring resemble their parents.

The smallest unit of a living thing that can carry out the basic activities of life, surrounded by a membrane and containing genetic material.

Anything that has mass and takes up space, made of tiny particles such as atoms and molecules that may be arranged as a solid, liquid, or gas.

A change in the size, shape, or state of a substance that does not create a new substance, such as melting ice, tearing paper, or dissolving sugar.

A change in which one or more substances react to form new substances with different properties, often shown by color change, gas bubbles, heat, or a new solid.

The mass of a material per unit of volume, found by dividing mass by volume, which helps predict whether an object will float or sink.

The smallest particle of an element that still has that element's properties, consisting of protons and neutrons in a nucleus with electrons around it.

A push or pull on an object that can change its speed, direction, or shape; forces are measured in newtons and always occur in interacting pairs.

An attractive force between any two objects that increases with their masses and decreases with distance; Earth's gravity pulls objects toward the planet's center.

Heat transfer through direct contact, as fast-moving particles pass energy to slower ones nearby, moving energy from warmer regions to cooler ones.

Heat transfer by the movement of a fluid, in which warmer, less dense material rises and cooler, denser material sinks, creating circulating currents.

A closed path through which electric current can flow, usually including an energy source, conducting wires, and a device such as a bulb or motor.

A basic device such as a lever, pulley, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, or screw that changes the size or direction of a force to make work easier.

A testable prediction that answers a scientific question and can be supported or rejected by evidence collected in an investigation.

The factor in an experiment that the investigator deliberately changes in order to observe what effect it has on the outcome being measured.

The factor in an experiment that is measured or observed as the outcome; it may change in response to the independent variable.

Information gathered directly through the senses or with instruments, describing what can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, or measured during an investigation.

A repeating cycle in which people define a problem, brainstorm and test possible solutions, and improve a design while considering limits such as cost, time, safety, and materials.

A simplified representation of an object, system, or process used to explain ideas, make predictions, or test a design when the real thing is too big, small, or dangerous.